Thursday, June 30, 2011

Thank you, Gina, for the amazing birthday dinner––especially the bread pudding with whiskey sauce. And thank you for listening. You're one of the best listeners I've ever encountered. The only problem is that I tell you everything and then when I get home I worry that you'll never speak to me again. And then you speak to me again!

p.s. And thanks for being such a good sport about putting on your wet hiking boots and going on that long hike with me on the beach afterwards.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

I know you're not going to believe me, but it's true! I actually came upon this tiny sculpture on the beach this evening. Down near Santiago Street. I did not make it. Somebody must have made it and left it there just for me.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

My walking-distance library–the Anza branch –has been closed a year and a half for renovation. It just reopened last week.

I stormed in yesterday and gathered up a mountain of books. When I plopped them down at the checkout desk I realized that I'd probably have to put some back. So I says to the librarian, "How many books can you check out at one time?"

Friday, June 24, 2011

This was my favorite piece. I love the fingers on the painting hand. They look kind of like cartoon fingers, and like they might be moving really fast. I also love the way the arm comes right out of his heart–or at least right out of the middle of his body. You can see the changes in the drawing, and that also gives it life. And the stripes!

Every room in the exhibit had a quote or two by Picasso way up high on the walls. His words as well as his paintings really did something to me. I ended up typing three of the quotes into my phone and sending them home to myself.

... though I don't fully understand the third quote. Do you?

It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Sunday, June 12, 2011

My favorite thing this weekend: After an incredibly long walk, rinsing off the sea glass, taking a shower and making a martini. Then getting in bed and between sips reading my new George and Martha book cover to cover. Writing a tiny note to Aggles.

Tom reading the new Lawrence Block.

Hooray! One last birthday hurrah: Em and John, our favorite next door neighbors, took us to Rumble Fish. What a sweet and delicious treat, except for the pot sticker that got stuck to the roof of my mouth. (Worth it.)

Friday, June 10, 2011

photo by Jane Underwood
Take a look at this amazing book by my friend and writing teacher Jane Underwood. Gosh, I hope I didn't make too many mistakes in this post. I'd better let the book do the talking.

Wednesday, June 08, 2011

Well, I want to write some letters. On my last letterhead–from 7 or 8 years ago–the bird with the note coming out of its mouth (1st image) was printed really BIG. It was transparent so you could type over it. Recently it started looking unfriendly to me. And I decided I wanted to use a tiny bright image instead. So the bird morphed into a more rounded character with big round ears. ("I'm a good listener.") But then I thought: That mouth is wrong. What if the mouth were the same weight as the legs and feet? I kind of liked how the smile went from eye to eye instead of from ear to ear, because I use my eyes as much as my ears, if not more.

Then I thought, the creature should say something about how I love working on the computer. So the body started taking the shape of a computer pad. But then I thought, should the ears be pointier? Should I have arms and legs? Then I thought: Should I try to look like a girl? That's where I always seem to run into trouble, getting dressed and doing hair. If you have any suggestions, please don't hold back.

Do you find this to be true? A lot of business letters today are simply typed into the body of an email. When a letter is typed onto a letterhead, usually the letter will be read as a PDF, not as a printed piece.

Sunday, June 05, 2011

Thursday, June 02, 2011

To think there's a group in Tiburon that meets once a month to discuss articles in the New Yorker! Tonight the group decided to discuss pictures in the New Yorker, specifically those of Mark Ulriksen, whose work we love. So we hightailed it across the bridge to Joe's Taco Lounge for a taco, and then zipped straight over to the library.

The joint was packed. Members of the club brought bottles and bottles of wine. Mark's younger daughter Lily helped him with the computer so that the presentation ran without a hitch. And I walked out with a Mark Ulriksen Giants wallet for Mary Ann. (I paid for it first, of course.)

Yep, that's Billy Grimes on the left. I'm on the right, and if I look a little worse for the wear it's because the woman below–that's Lucille–made me hike with her all over San Francisco this afternoon. Afterwards we took a moment to gulp down some sparkling wine and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies before I zoomed home to pick up Tom.